The Ladder Theory is a controversial social formula for simplifying attractions between men and women. It posits that men have a sliding scale, or "ladder," ranking every woman they meet on how much they would like to have sex with her. Women, on the other hand, have two ladders, for ranking men they find sexually attractive and men they consider friends. Since men have only one ladder, the theory states that heterosexual men and women can never be friends.
- Ladder Theory's tenets are called Lemmas, and they are arranged as follows:
Lemma 1: When you meet someone new, you give them a mental rating for attractiveness. This rating places the person on a ranking system called a ladder. The more attractive the person is to you, the higher you place them on the ladder.
Lemma 2: Women's attraction to men is based largely on money and looks, while men's attraction is based largely on looks and perceived ease of initiating sex.
Lemma 3: Men have one ladder for all women. Women have two ladders: one for men they classify as friends, and a second for men they would actually date or have sex with. - Ladder Theory states that men develop their ranking based on the following factors:
60% Looks: Perceived physical attractiveness.
30% Perceived Sexual Readiness: Lynn refers to this as the "estimated chance she'll put out quickly."
10% Other: This is not explained, but in women, "other" refers to personality characteristics.
Based on an immediate perception, then, men are able to rank women and organize them on their ladder. Much of this process is unconscious, and mostly appears as a man's thought that he would rather have sex with one woman than another. - Ladder theory claims that women's attraction is based on the following factors:
50% Money/Power: Why unattractive men of wealth and influence are with beautiful women.
40% Attractiveness: Sub-divided as follows:
50% Physical Attraction.
20% Competition: The more interested a man is in something/someone other than the woman, the more attractive she finds him.
20% Novelty: How recently the woman has met the man and his distinction from other men she knows.
10% Other.
10% Other: The personality factors most women claim are their primary factors for attraction: sense of humor, intelligence and sensitivity.
Ladder theory claims that the problem with women's ladders is that there are two of them. Women decide that a man is in the "friends" or in the "relationship " category, and rank him accordingly. Thus, even if a man is well-ranked on the friends ladder, he will never get to have sex with her. Men who attempt to go from friends to relationship material are called "ladder jumpers." The woman may allow the man to jump, but this is considered a rarity. The theory claims that women don't tell men they are on the friends ladder, and this is the cause of much confusion, anxiety and embarrassment in male-female relations.
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